NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Grand Island, NE
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Grand Island, Nebraska since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 227 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 20 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 227
- EF3 or stronger
- 20
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
13 deaths in all
What the records show for Grand Island
The strongest of the 227 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 5, 1964; its path came within 18 miles, and it killed 4 people. The deadliest, an F4 on May 8, 1965, killed 4 people. Of the 227, 31 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 60 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 81. The most recent tornado was on June 24, 2025. Grand Island has more tornadoes within 25 miles than any other of the 91 Nebraska cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 240 times since 1955, with stones up to 5 inches. Grand Island has more hail reports within 10 miles than 82% of the 91 Nebraska cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Grand Island
By decade
- 2020s20(1 EF3+)
- 2010s10
- 2000s30
- 1990s51(5 EF3+)
- 1980s44(6 EF3+)
- 1970s25(3 EF3+)
- 1960s25(3 EF3+)
- 1950s22(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1964 | F5 | 18 mi | 79.7 mi | 4 / 50 |
| May 8, 1965 | F4 | 10 mi | 125.7 mi | 4 / 53 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F4 | 3 mi | 1.1 mi | 3 / 110 |
| Apr 7, 1978 | F4 | 6 mi | 31.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F3 | 1 mi | 2.3 mi | 1 / 40 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F3 | 1 mi | 6.4 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF3 | 24 mi | 9.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1993 | F3 | 10 mi | 50 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1993 | F3 | 21 mi | 60 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 7, 1993 | F3 | 18 mi | 75 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 3 mi | 27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 13 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 227, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Grand Island
The Storm Prediction Center has 240 hail reports within 10 miles of Grand Island since 1955, made on 158 separate days. Of these, 166 were 1 inch across or larger, and 28 reached 2 inches. The largest, 5 inches, fell on April 7, 1978. The most recent report is from April 17, 2025. June has the most reports, 73.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Grand Island
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Grand Island Airport, NE, 4 miles northeast of Grand Island at 1,840 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 26.5 inches over 49 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 36 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 145 nights a year. Snowfall averages 27.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 26.5 inches is more than at 24 of the 68 Nebraska stations used on this site (35%). Doniphan, 11 miles south, has its own station (Hastings 4N, NE): 27.9 inches a year, 1.4 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 16 | 0.6 | 2 | 6.8 |
| Feb | 40 | 19 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.3 |
| Mar | 53 | 29 | 1.4 | 4 | 3.8 |
| Apr | 63 | 39 | 2.5 | 5 | 1.6 |
| May | 73 | 51 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 61 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 66 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 64 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 54 | 2.0 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Oct | 66 | 41 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.1 |
| Nov | 51 | 28 | 1.1 | 2 | 2.3 |
| Dec | 39 | 19 | 0.8 | 2 | 4.7 |
| Year | 63 | 40 | 26.5 | 49 | 27.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Grand Island Airport, NE (1,840 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Grand Island
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 160 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Grand Island: 121 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods, 12 heavy rain events, 11 floods and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $10.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 87 mph, on July 28, 2018. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 14. Of the 89 Nebraska cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 69 have had fewer than Grand Island.
July 10, 2011: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Grand Island — $2.1 million damage.
NWS: “Wind gusts estimated between 60 and 65 MPH were reported across Grand Island resulting in power outages, and was also accompanied by penny size hail. On the northwest side of town, a garage and car were damaged when a tree was uprooted.”
May 29, 2008: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Grand Island — $800,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorms rolled across most of Hamilton County during the evening and nighttime hours and dumped several inches of rain. This caused roads and small creeks to quickly flood.”
May 30, 2011: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Grand Island — $750,000 damage.
NWS: “Damage reported from the wind gusts estimated near 80 MPH included a local housing company having a show home destroyed when it rolled, siding and window damage to a number of homes and recreational vehicles, and vehicle and roof damage at a local manufacturing plant. Tree damage was reported across town.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Grand Island's 2 ZIP codes have filed 117 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $644,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Midwest Flooding in 1993: 13 claims (11% of all) and $17,000. The year with the most claims was 2005, with 33. 15% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 41 Nebraska cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 30 have fewer than Grand Island.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 13 | $17,000 |
Hall County, which includes Grand Island, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds, on September 6, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hall County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $38.5 million a year, the 4th highest of 93 Nebraska counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.4 million (40%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Grand Island
- Doniphan, NE11 mi
- Wood River, NE15 mi
- Aurora, NE19 mi
- Saint Paul, NE22 mi
- Hastings, NE23 mi
- Central City, NE23 mi
- Juniata, NE24 mi
- Ravenna, NE28 mi
- Gibbon, NE29 mi
- York, NE40 mi
- Kearney, NE41 mi
- Minden, NE42 mi
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